Monthly Highlights

Backroads of Montana: Coming Home (No. 122)
In this episode, we accompany the Shakespeare in the Parks troupe to Birney, the smallest community to host their tour, visit Kremlin-Gilford for its last homecoming parade, plant a special tree with a group of Girl Scouts in Great Falls, and walk an interpretive trail near Hamilton that tells the story of Lewis & Clark from another perspective. Airs Saturday, 8/1 at 5pm

Aber Day Kegger Documentary
This documentary traces the evolution of the Aber Day Benefit Kegger from its humble beginnings in 1972, through its meteoric growth over the next eight years, to its eventual conclusion in 1979. In the process, the event managed to leave its mark on the tens of thousands who attended, the beneficiaries who received its contributions, the community who hosted the event, and in Guinness World Records which recognized the event as the world's largest benefit kegger. Airs Sunday, 8/2 at 10am

Fish Between the Falls
Ten thousand years ago Kootenai people painted pictures of white sturgeon on the rocks above the lake where they lived. These impressive fish, the largest and one of the oldest in North America, were an important part of the tribe's diet and the inspiration for their elegant sturgeon-nosed canoes. Now, dikes and dams have changed the river system so much that sturgeon no longer successfully reproduce. But the people whose culture is bound up with these fish and the people who control the river today are working together to restore the Kootenai River White Sturgeon to their ancestral home. Airs Thursday, 8/6 at 7pm, Sunday, 8/9 at 10am

Backroads of Montana: Collecting Memories (No. 123)
We are introduced to an icon of 1950's television as we profile the high flying exploits of Montana-native Kirby Grant, better known as "Sky King." Next we ride along for a trip to the Schafer Air Field in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, the last private airfield in a wilderness area lovingly tended to each summer by the Montana Pilots Association. Then we meet a woman in Fairfield with an unusually large hankie collection, and a young woman from Missoula whose entrepreneurial dream is an inspiration to those around her. Montana native and host William Marcus also takes viewers on a history tour of the Fort Peck Dam near Glasgow. Airs Saturday, 8/8 at 5pm

Glacier Park's Night of the Grizzlies
On the night of August 12, 1967, grizzly bears in Glacier National Park killed two young women and severely mauled one man. For everyone involved, it remains an unforgettable night of crisis, intense fear, bravery and, ultimately, grief. This dramatic and tragic story, and how it eventually influenced the fate of the grizzly bear in the continental United States, takes center stage in the historical documentary. Archival material, photographs, re-creations and gripping on-camera interviews with survivors, witnesses, family members, journalists and biologists, provide a complete account of those events. Veteran film and television actor J.K. Simmons (Law and Order, Juno, Up in the Air, The Closer) narrates. Airs Wednesday, 8/12 at 7pm

11th & Grant with Eric Funk: Kenny James Miller Band (No. 1003)
The powerful Blues-Rock trio, Kenny James Miller Band, brings their all original, high energy music to 11th & Grant. The potency of a large rock band fits into the hands of three accomplished musicians; Ken Sederdahl on lead guitar and vocals, Mark Cornett on bass, and Mark Miller on drums. Airs Saturday, 8/15 at 10:02pm, Thursday, 8/13 at 7pm, Monday, 8/17 at 2:30am

Backroads of Montana: Fromberg to Ulm (No. 124)
Along the Missouri River south of Great Falls, we meet a woman who gathers fiber from her family farm animals to make an intriguing variety of products. We stop by a Tea Shop in Anaconda for some cookies and Earl Grey. A naturalist guides us to see some of Montana's diverse butterfly population. We visit all that remains of the town of Gebo: the cemetery, which is being researched and preserved by a woman from Fromberg. And we cool our heels at the Cowboy Bar & Museum in Fromberg, the ideal place for a cold beer and a warm recollection. Airs Saturday, 8/15 at 5pm

Shadows of David Thompson
Fur trader, surveyor and explorer David Thompson paddled, rode and walked from Hudson Bay to the Pacific Ocean, making maps that were unsurpassed for a hundred years. He was the first European to travel the full length of the Columbia River, and his journals provide some of the earliest descriptions of what is now Montana, Idaho, British Columbia Washington state. Now, 200 years after Thompson's greatest achievements, film maker George Sibley paints a vivid picture of a world on the brink of change and a man who helped change it, filmed on locations where it all took place. Airs Sunday, 8/16 at 10am

Joseph Kinsey Howard: A Life Outside the Margins
Joe Howard was one of the most influential and controversial figures in Montana during the 1930s and 40s. As a journalist and historian, he drew attention to the social, political, and economic struggles of the state but his role in Montana's cultural development may be his most significant contribution. This program provides an insight into his life and legacy. Airs Thursday, 8/20 at 7pm, Sunday, 8/23 at 10am

Changing Home: Small Town Survival
How do two families adapt to their changing Montana town? As White Sulphur Springs anticipates a new industry arriving, will it fundamentally alter this small town? One high school senior prepares to leave for college and wonders if the town will be the same if she returns. Another family hopes for more opportunities in town to bring their children home. It is a scenario happening in small towns across Montana. Airs Thursday, 8/20 at 7:30pm, Sunday, 8/23 at 10:30am

Backroads of Montana: Two Dot to Fishtail (No. 125)
In this episode we stop at one of Montana's legendary night-clubs, the Sip & Dip in Great Falls, complete with the piano stylings of Pat Sponheim. We also visit a knife maker in Missoula; Montana's oldest general store in Fishtail; and the Wheatland Senior Citizen's Center in Harlowton - which has been a source of strength for its director Irene Schuchcard. The program originates from Two Dot, Montana. Airs Saturday, 8/22 at 5pm

11th & Grant with Eric Funk: Drum Brothers (No. 1005)
The Drum Brothers feature a mix of ethnic and contemporary world music. Driving west African rhythms, polyrhythmic dance grooves and authentic vocals make this Missoula group one of a kind in Montana. Four talented multi-instrumentalists comprise Drum Brothers; Matthew Marsolek, Michael Marsolek, Lawrence Duncan, and Colin Ruggiero meld a diverse array of percussion and melody with West African djembe and doun-doun drums, Australian didgeridoo, saxophone and flute, guitar, vocals, and hand percussion. Airs Thursday, 8/27 at 7pm, Saturday, 8/29 at 9pm, Monday, 8/31 at 3am

Backroads of Montana: Kilns and Kin (No. 126)
The Backroads crew travels along as family and friends gather near Lodge Grass to move animals onto summer range; we visit some abandoned beehive charcoal kilns west of Melrose -- all that's left of one of Montana's earliest and most productive gold smelters; we find the exact geographic center of the state near Lewistown; and visit with a woman who's maintaining her family's connection to the African-American history of the Miles City area. William Marcus hosts the program from a barber shop in Columbus. Airs Saturday, 8/29 at 5pm

Business: Made in Montana (No. 1801)
This episode features Quadrocopter, a Flathead Valley business that mixes technologies to market a new product. The show also profiles the people behind Montana's longest running microbrewery, a talented Missoula tattoo artist who has overcome his medical condition and a fourth generation Montana couple who started Montana's only whiskey distillery in Bozeman. Airs Sunday, 8/30 at 10:30am

Each month, MontanaPBS presents new programs and favorites from the past that have been produced in the state. For a detailed schedule with airdates and descriptions of the upcoming Montana programs, view the featured Monthly Highlights.

Improved and more economical television production technologies, such as the digital video (DV) format, have made it easier than ever before for individuals to create their own programs for potential broadcast. MontanaPBS encourages these Independent Producers, and in some cases we may be able to provide some assistance on your project. Visit our Independents page for more information.